Abstract
In Colombia, the use of anti-personnel mines is the result of more than sixty years of armed conflict. The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace - Descontamina Colombia (OACP-DC), the current national mine action authority in Colombia, recorded 11,828 explosive ordnance (EO) victims between 1985 and 2019. Furthermore, Colombia is one of nine countries where new anti-personnel mines are still being emplaced by non-state armed groups, which presents a challenge for the mine action sector. The aim of explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) is to reduce the risk of accidents by raising awareness and promoting safe behavior among EO-affected communities, which also helps to strengthen communities’ relationships with mine action operators and facilitates information gathering during non-technical survey. This study, funded by The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), aims to provide a characterization of EO victims and EORE activities between 2012 and 2019 in Colombia, and to identify the lessons learned and challenges faced.
Recommended Citation
Valencia, Salomé; Desantis, Angela; Wilson, Matt; Tovar Jaramillo, Sebastián; Cortés Sánchez, Angela Patricia; and Jaimes Alfonso, Ana Jaquelin
(2020)
"Explosive Ordnance Victims and Risk Education: Lessons Learned from Colombia 2012-2019,"
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction: Vol. 24
:
Iss.
2
, Article 17.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol24/iss2/17
Included in
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons